Edgewood Summit takes on a new mission

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Edgewood Summit in Charleston is taking on a new mission. Wednesday employees and staff cut the ribbon on the new Arthur B. Hodges Center.

Larry Crimmins, the president of the Edgewood Summit’s Board of Directors, said the facility offers two different health care options.

“Before we just had independent living and assisted living. Now we are opening it up to memory support and skilled care,” explained Crimmins.

Construction got underway on the building in August 2012. It’s a state of the art facility that aims to make residents feel like they’re living at home with comfortable, private rooms and baths and common areas with cozy nooks and big windows that show off the view.

Crimmins said the Hodges Center will take on residents that are sometimes hard to place, those with Alzheimer’s disease and brain injuries.

“There’s a critical need for memory support in the Valley. There’s not enough rooms and facilities in communities to fill the growing memory support need,” stressed Crimmins.

The memory support unit will be open to public. However, skilled living, for now, is only available to current Edgewood Summit residents.

Crimmins said they’ve tried to meet the continuing needs of those living at the Summit.

“We have couples in our community that are aging at a different pace. So we provided the comfort and certainty that couple’s want, of being in a community, where they can have various degrees of healthcare,” the president said.

The Hodges Center has 40 employees, rooms for 18 memory residents and 20 skilled nursing rooms. Residents will start moving in next week. But Crimmins stressed, they won’t come all at one time. They’ll start out with a few residents and will be monitored by the state Health Care Authority. Once they get HCA approval, the new building is expected to be near capacity.